Skip advert
Advertisement

JLR will not be sold to any manufacturer, says CEO

JLR will not be sold to any other car manufacturing group despite recent news reports according to CEO Dr Ralph Speth

Dr Ralph Speth

Jaguar Land Rover has given its strongest indication yet that the company will not be sold to Peugeot-Citroen, Fiat-Chrysler, Hyundai-Kia or any other motor manufacturing groups hoping to buy their way into the premium car and luxury SUV markets.

Dr Ralph Speth, JLR’s CEO, concedes that his British-based company is currently going through a financially tough period. But there are many good reasons for this - including the politically-driven collapse of diesel car sales that he has, in the past, relied so heavily on; multi-billion pound spending on cleaner future products; plus massive construction works and other investments in his UK and overseas plants.

Advertisement - Article continues below

JLR employees could move to a four-day week

Speth also pointed out that the likes of Peugeot-Citroen and Fiat-Chrysler have suffered extremely worrying financial problems of their own in the recent past when, ironically, he says JLR could afford to buy them if it wanted to.  

“Today it’s very simple. Jaguar Land Rover is not for sale,” Speth assured me over a World Car Awards lunch at Ashorne Hill, JLR’s country house and training centre.

“We are owned by TATA of India. This is the way things will stay. TATA - with Jaguar and Land Rover - is a leader, producing leading products that have won a total of six World Car Awards in the last three years.”

Dr Speth is looking forward to welcoming TATA’s godfather, Ratan Tata, plus other senior members of the clan to the British Midlands this summer. These hugely powerful industrialists are expected to view and give the production go-ahead for several Jaguar and Land Rover products (including a mini Land Rover) destined for the showrooms of Britain and the rest of the world in the mid to long-term future.

Meanwhile, Jaguar Design Director Ian Callum CBE who’s due to retire from JLR on June 28 insists that at 64 he still has plenty of automotive and non-automotive design ideas and ambitions. Significantly, he did not shy away from my suggestion that he might go as far as forming his very own Callum Car Company which could build the first-ever Callum-badged car in strictly limited volumes.

Do you think JLR would be better to stay independent? Let us know in the comments below...

Skip advert
Advertisement
Chief columnist

Mike was one of the founding fathers of Auto Express in 1988. He's been motoring editor on four tabloid newspapers - London Evening News, The Sun, News of the World & Daily Mirror. He was also a weekly columnist on the Daily Telegraph, The Independent and The Sunday Times. 

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Best new cars coming in 2024
Best new cars coming in 2024 - header image
Best cars & vans

Best new cars coming in 2024

There are some big new models from the likes of BMW, Citroen, Dacia, Ford, MINI, Skoda and more on the way in 2024
12 Mar 2024
Jaguar Land Rover pays for more police at UK ports to curb exports of stolen cars
Ships at port
News

Jaguar Land Rover pays for more police at UK ports to curb exports of stolen cars

The Range Rover maker spends ‘several hundred thousand pounds’ in effort to thwart stolen car exports from the UK
7 Feb 2024
Exclusive: Jaguar Land Rover boss sets the record straight on thefts, insurance, parts supply, electrification and more
JLR interview
News

Exclusive: Jaguar Land Rover boss sets the record straight on thefts, insurance, parts supply, electrification and more

JLR’s UK managing director, Patrick McGillycuddy, talks to us about the issues facing the business and its big future plans…
3 Feb 2024
Jaguar Land Rover CEO hits back over Range Rover theft issues
Range Rover action
News

Jaguar Land Rover CEO hits back over Range Rover theft issues

Insurance companies are “not using the data” according to CEO Adrian Mardell
2 Feb 2024

Most Popular

Road tax set to rise in April: here’s how much more you’ll pay
Road tax documentation
News

Road tax set to rise in April: here’s how much more you’ll pay

Drivers with newer cars can expect to be paying roughly £10 more per year, a although the biggest gas guzzlers will fare the worst
26 Mar 2024
Posh new trim level for Dacia Sandero while the Sandero Stepway gets more power
Dacia Sandero - front
News

Posh new trim level for Dacia Sandero while the Sandero Stepway gets more power

Both the Sandero and Sandero Stepway ranges have been tweaked, gaining more safety features to meet the latest regulations
26 Mar 2024
Huge Audi new car blitz to bring us 9 models in 2 years
Upcoming Audi models - four-way image
News

Huge Audi new car blitz to bring us 9 models in 2 years

After a quiet few years, the German giant is gearing up for its biggest product onslaught to date
25 Mar 2024